‘Cream of the Crop’: UF professor named woman of the year in agriculture

Ann Blount runs a 350-acre farm with cows and goats, along with her 25-year-old daughter and 91-year-old mother.

Beyond the farm, Blount was also named the 2018 Woman of the Year in Agriculture. This is the 34th year of the the award, and it will be presented to her at the 2019 Florida State Fair in Tampa, Florida, in February.

Blount, a UF professor of agronomy and plant breeding, said she was shocked to hear she won the award. She said she’d always done her work because she’s passionate about it.

“A lot of people don’t know what agronomy is,” Blount, 64, said. “But, it’s probably the backbone of agriculture in the United States.”

She grew up on farm in St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. There, she said, she developed a love for genetic diversity in crops such as tomatoes and papayas.

Spending the majority of her life in agriculture influenced Blount to pursue an education in the field, where she pursued a master’s and doctorate degree at UF and would eventually live on a farm of her own, she said.

“The island needed an agronomist, so they suggested that’s what I studied,” Blount said.

Ken Quesenberry, Blount’s mentor and a UF agronomy professor, said he’s been impressed with Blount since he first met her 30 years ago when she was a UF student pursuing her master’s degree.

After she graduated from UF, Quesenberry said she continued to work in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences with him on research programs and assignments for 20 years.

When Quesenberry found out Blount was nominated for the program, he was delighted to see she was selected for the honor.

“She’s always been a great mentor for the grad students she’s involved in her program,” Quesenberry said.

Glen Aiken, the UF IFAS North Florida Research and Education center director and Blount’s supervisor, said it wasn’t hard to write the letter that formally nominated Blount for the award because he said he only had positive things to say about her.

“She’s passionate about her job. Her friends really appreciate her. She’s got a really good heart,” Aiken said.

Even though Blount is the sole winner of the award, she said it’s important to realize that agriculture is a team effort.

“The best part of this job is I’ve made lifelong friends with the producers,” Blount said. “It’s great, the agricultural community." 

Contact Dana Cassidy at dcassidy@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @danacassidy_

Ann Blount at a trip to northern Argentina.